JITLI Stories

Jitli. What is Jitli? Jitli stands for Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute. It is a summer program where there are 10 participants from Lakiya, 10 from Segev Shalom, 10 from Shar ha Negev, and 10 from San Diego. We start off and we begin as strangers but quickly transform into brothers and sisters. For me Jitli was much more than…

When I was originally accepted into the JITLI program I was overwhelmed with the daunting task of spending three weeks in a country with thirty absolute strangers. But as the meetings progressed and I saw how fast ten strangers could turn into the “San Diego family” I realized that it was possible to develop friendships, but would it be possible…

A word about peace, people and life. Who are we? And where do we come from? Does our past define our future? Or is the future that defines our present? Do goals guide our life? Or is history that guides our goals? Why? Why? Why? These are hard questions; they are questions of doubt of curiosity. A funny thing about…

It was my first time in Israel and I didn’t know what to expect. After a whole day of travelling I landed in the airport feeling fatigued but excited. Our group made it through customs and we were greeted by a mob of yelling people holding balloons and waving signs, 30 people of different race, religion, and cultural backgrounds in…

I have always loved JITLI. The main idea of the program is working to have the Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs talk and understand each other’s perspectives. As much as JITLI is about this idea it has also taught me how to communicate and step out of my comfort zone. One misconception about JITLI is that it is all about…

Where to begin? JITLI has been one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was certainly the most unique and unexpected. Leading up to JITLI, I didn’t know what to expect. One of my biggest obstacles in life is meeting and befriending new people. I knew that I not only would meet new people, but that I would…

JetLi program a successful program and beautiful. Before I share in this project, I hear a lot of good things from friends. When I decided to take part encouraged me all the people closest to me. On the first day of the project was a day full of surprises and also at the same time I was afraid to Anie…

JITLI: a group of 40 kids who have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. A group of ten kids from San Diego, ten kids from Sha’ar HaNegev, ten kids from Lakyia, and ten kids from Segev Shalom. A group of kids who all want to learn something new from people who have always been on the other side of…

Before attending JITLI, I had never really seen the “real” world. I live in a bubble, a bubble with people living in a perfect world who believe that the biggest problem is the power going out for a day. What they don’t know, is that half way across the world, in an unrecognized village, Bedouin families are figuring out how…

The whole thing was a paradox. The people, the goal, the trip. There would always be the wall, a wall that in some cases is a physical border, though many times simply metaphorical. Whether it was made of poured concrete or just poor feelings, it did its job. There’s no mystery of what a wall is supposed to do; alienate…